Life in the Fast Lane: My 72nd Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in the rugby that my standout rugby moment I watched on TV was the AB's-Ireland test in Dublin, which was from the year before where Damian McKenzie made the difference as he filled in for the concussed Beauden Barrett, & it was better than the England one (Not the one from last year, but also the year before) that would be my 2nd where we almost lost in the dying seconds with a penalty goal that had been missed after Anton Lienert-Brown had been sin binned, & on report by the referee for the dangerous hit, then a field goal at the death that gone astray in which the English should've won, therefore we manage to survive not one, but two close calls, while my 3rd was the 2015 men's Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand (Coached by Sir Steve Hansen until 2019, where Ian Foster took over by guiding us through to our first final since 2015), & the Wallabies for that was by far, the best men's RWC match I have ever watched on TV where Dan Carter in his final game of all forms of rugby as he closed out his chapter along with our skipper at the time of Richie McCaw & 3 others (Although Tony Woodcock did not play through injury) of scoring 19 points in an epic final (His best test ever since back in 2005 during the 2nd test of the Lions series against the British & Irish Lions in Wellington according to the previous stories that I did on my blogs) for that was the greatest men's RWC finals of all-time in which the last time the AB's would gone on to win the men's Rugby World Cup (The only one we did triumph away from home, but the 2023 final which could've gone away in that we fell short by the barest of margins (Including a sending off by also our skipper at the time, then a no try decision that ruined us from regaining the title) in which the Springboks continued their dominance in the international rugby arena therefore the William Webb Ellis cup, remains in South Africa, but let's say that we win the men's RWC next year in order to take back the Wiremu, what's rightfully ours).

And secondly in the gaming department that I haven't played Grand Theft Auto V since either September, or October last year because of GTA IV being my preference that I play every day to reminisce both the Iran, & that dreadful invasion since 2022 (Which is still going, even though it's been 40 years since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster had struck for that was the most serious accident ever to occur in the nuclear power industry, as the disaster had occurred on April 25th to the 26th way back in 1986, when technicians at reactor Unit 4 attempted a poorly designed experiment as Ukraine marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster when Reactor number 4 at the part was blown up on the 26th of April, as millions were exposed to radiation, hundreds of thousands forced to escape, & wide swathes of land contaminated, when the Chernobyl accident remains one of the defining moments in the twilight years of the Soviet Union. As Moscow sought to obscure the disaster while quietly evacuating more than 116,000 people from the area surrounding the plant in the days after the reactor exploded), but some gamer in Scotland which is in the UK had purchased an advanced Xbox 360 console at a flea market such as a local boot sale which contained the adapted version of Grand Theft Auto IV which was a 2007 beta build dev kit worth 5 UK pounds which is 11 & a half New Zealand dollars as a unit (Featuring a Rockstar North label) that contained over 120 GB of data, including cut content, unused assets, & an unfinished prototype zombie mode, while findings include functional ferry systems, early music/radio, and an aforementioned "Zombie" mode, although former Rockstar technical director Obbe Vermeij confirmed the legality of the assets, but the significance is that it is considered a major gaming preservation find.

And thirdly that in 2023 that the most recent Football (Soccer) men's World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi who was the first player to win the FIFA men's player award via vote, & a record seven times as he was the first man to do so following his impressive 2022-23 season including helping his country win a 3rd World Cup in 2022 according to the history in the Gran Turismo 7 game that I've covered along with the 2004-05 NHL lockout 2 blogs ago, & Roger Federer's retirement in tennis on my previous blog.

And lastly that I'm planning to watch the first Star Wars movie by next year due to the space opera franchise celebrating 50 years since the release of the original, but I have not watched a movie since Austin Powers in Goldmember (For that was the movie of the year here in New Zealand back in 2002) when both Aunty Tan & Rejean (Who I have not seen both of them for 118 days as of April 30th) were here in December.

So that is my 720th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 72nd of this year, viva Ukraine.

Hotel California: My 71st Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that April 28th this year marked 30 years since the tragic Port Arthur shootings took place in Australia where 35 innocent lives had been taken by a gunman who is currently serving a life sentence for the mass murder charge that resulted firearm legislation reforms being carried out, such as the war on semi-automatic rifles used in the massacre for which had been strict (Then in December last year that there was another tragic mass shooting near Bondi Beach in Sydney that claimed 15 lives who were caught in crossfire for that was Port Arthur 2.0 according to the previous stories that I did on my blogs in one of Australia's darkest days since way back in 1996 (For that was the death of semi automatic high powered rifles in Australia after Port Arthur, & the birth of Australia's most successful wrestlers male or female of WWE's Rhea Ripley who is one of women's wrestling's top stars this decade (And she was the top lady of the year in 2023 according to one of the pro wrestling magazines after her title victory against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39 which was one of the best women's wrestling matches at 'The Grandest Stage of Them All' despite the slowest of starts that they had once it started (They once had Emma as Australia's original female wrestler, now it's Ripley who had since been taken over (Although she became the new WWE Women's Champion when she defeated against her main rival of African American female wrestler Jade Cargill at WrestleMania XLII (Same night that Cody Rhodes managed to beat Randy Orton to retain the Undisputed WWE Championship during the main event of night 1 despite injury, a night before Roman Reigns was able to successfully challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight title as he manhandled CM Punk during night 2 which was the main event) held in Las Vegas, before the lady known as 'Ripper Queen' defeated Cargill again when she remained as the champion at WWE the Clash in Italy (Where the Italian WWE fanatics were the loudest crowd out there (Compared to the French where they had Backlash the year before) according to the man known as 'The American Nightmare' (Who had a infamous stare down with Roman just before his match in which both Cody Rhodes, & Roman Reigns will both appear in the upcoming Street Fighter movie (Which features Samoan-American film star Jason Momoa (Who is a regular visitor of our country that is New Zealand) who plays one of the characters of Blanka as well), as both Guile, & the villainous Akuma (Gouki) characters respectively) in which he decimated the Austrian wrestler of the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Gunther on that night to defend his Undisputed WWE Championship, along with Roman who overpowered Tama Tonga in his defence of the WWE WHC (Same night as the female wrestler from Hawaii, Sol Ruca (Well, her main roster debut was exactly this year following her graduation from NXT) who became the new WWE Women's Intercontinental Championship, in which she shocked the world by walloping the Irishwoman who was once the biggest stars of women's wrestling during the last decade (That was both the late Chyna during the 90s, & then Canadian Trish Stratus also during the noughties decade) that was the 2010s of Becky Lynch (Right before Ripley took over this decade which was the 2020s throughout, & has dominated since) who had been the champion since the last WrestleMania where she defeated AJ Lee just to regain the crown, before an announcement from the World Wrestling Entertainment came that there will be a new John Cena Invitational which showcases the next-gen of male wrestlers who have ambitions of competing in the WWE (Just like the Mae Young Invitational where young female wrestlers have took part of becoming the next big star, like Ripley for example who made her official World Wrestling Entertainment debut at the Mae Young Invitational back in 2017 (Same year that she made her NXT debut that was 4 years prior to her main roster debut in 2021), even as a blonde haired 20 year old just before undergoing her drastic transformation into a goth where she has black hair & makeup on where she has matured well) despite B-Fab & Charlotte who interfered on Ripley as both of them were attempting to come to aid towards Cargill's efforts of regaining the championship), but they now have a male Nigerian wrestler who hailed as the next John Cena, of Oba Femi (Who I saw him interviewed in one of the African related programmes on CNN briefly) where beachgoers are told to evacuate, before a suspect was killed while his son had been captured by authorities & taken into custody for the mass murder charge in which both hate speech & terror symbols had been outlawed in the state of New South Wales as well as changes to the gun laws that are being brought in which seemed to be effective in that security has been heightened in time for the extended Hanukkah celebrations around the world to stamp out any antisemitism, especially abuse being targeted (And this is just like Christchurch back in 2019 where a far-right extremist person opened fire by murdering 51 people who have Islamic beliefs for which was the worst shooting incident ever recorded on New Zealand soil that was colloquially known as the sequel to Aramoana way back in 1990, that resulted high powered guns being cracked down in order to address of keeping our country safe where firearm legislations have worked in that the United States had been lacked of, then that gunman got sent behind bars for life for which he is still serving time as a result of the mass killing charge, meaning that there's no escape if someone has a life sentence, & if they do, that there'll be time being added to the sentence of a prisoner).

And secondly that I wrote a blog last year about 2001 being not a great year in terms of motor racing as this year celebrates 25 years since Dale Earnhardt Sr's fatal accident during the Great American Race of the Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida which was won by Mike Waltrip (Brother of former NASCAR racer Darrell), then Alex Zanardi losing both limbs in a crash during a Champ Car race in Germany, & the CART movie of Driven starring Sly Stallone was released in cinemas for that by far, was the worst sports movie ever made for which was a clanger, compared to F1: the Movie (Well, I've never seen that film before compared to Driven for which I have seen it before) also starring Brad Pitt being released last year to critical acclaim in terms of rave reviews as I mentioned on my previous blogs before, meaning that it is a ripper of a movie to watch (Compared to the Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King that came out back in 2003 being the greatest Hollywood movie of all time in which was considered an absolute banger, & a masterpiece), especially for the F1 fanatics who were missing the action during the 5 week, 35 day break.

And thirdly I kept telling Pops that his memory his good because of him taking those meds every day in the morning, so I have always been keeping an eye on him throughout not only because Pops is getting older due to the fact that he's 78 at the moment (He'll be turning 79 4 weeks after my birthday for which is due on June 7th when I hit the big 35 (It will be at Thai Villa for lunch on that day which there will be less crowds turning up for a joint birthday get together), 2 days after Dad's, & 3 days before Aunty Tan (Dad will be 57 on June 5th here in Whanganui, meanwhile Aunty Tan will be 58 on June 10th back there in Canada at Mont Saint Hilaire with Rejean), but we're heading to Rutland Arms Inn on Mother's Day which is the 10th of May for a lunch there, then on May 30th that is Raewyn's daughter's birthday dinner at Caroline's there as well due to take place.

And finally that there was once a tennis story about professional Swiss star Roger Federer (The Xherdan Shaqiri of Swiss tennis) that it's been 4 years since his retirement in 2022 where he was about to hang up his shoes with the Laver Cup being his last as he teamed up with his old rival Rafael Nadal (Who is Spanish tennis's equivalent of Andres Iniesta) who retired the year before in a doubles match.

So that is my 719th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 71st of this year, viva Ukraine.

Freeze Frame: My 70th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in the rugby that the first try scorer of the new Te Kaha Stadium (Compared to Colin Slade being the last try scorer at the old Lancaster Park stadium (Formerly Jade Stadium from 1998 until 2007, then AMI Stadium also from 2007 until 2011) according to the previous stories on my blogs) of departing Crusader & one test All Black Dallas McLeod who is set to join the Exeter Chiefs after this Super Rugby Pacific season when he joins his new club in time for the 2026-27 Gallagher Prem season on a lucrative contract signing deal.

And secondly onto the food stuff that I love meat pies as my fave New Zealand food compared to pasta being my overall favourite food as well, but I used to have Indian curries that Pops always loves despite the fact that I love them, & sushi due to the fact that it isn't good because of the worms that penetrate a person's brain, but I also love steak meals & burgers such as Burger King that I love as my favourite fast food restaurant (And I went on the 30th of April where I had a double whopper, just before I came to Cash Converters (My fave shop that I go to since EB Games here in New Zealand was shut down entirely) to buy a Tony Hawk's Underground PlayStation 2 game after lunch).

And thirdly that in the gaming that I love & enjoy the Rugby 06 PlayStation 2 game despite the scratched disc for which is better than the last decent rugby computer game sim that is Rugby 08, so I played 3 matches on Rugby 06 such as the Chiefs took on the New South Wales Waratahs at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, & won 63 - 0, then the All Blacks against Ireland in Hamilton with a comprehensive 70 - 0 score line, & the 3rd one I played a day later was between Los Pumas of Argentina taking on the All Blacks that I played with in Buenos Aires with a convincing 91 - 0 win, all on the club difficulty.

And lastly that that last year marked 20 years since the entire 2004-05 NHL season in Canada & the US, had been called off as a result of a lockout that other major sports leagues had increased higher attendances during the season, with the 2004–05 season (Which would've been the 88th season being played that was due to get underway in October 2004) famously cancelled entirely. Initiated by owners over labor disputes, these lockouts focused on introducing new salary cap policies, cutting player revenue percentages, & financial stability. These disputes severely impacted momentum, fan trust, and revenue, while that season was the longest and most significant, lasting 310 days from September 16, 2004, to July 13, 2005. It was the first time in North American professional sports that an entire season was cancelled due to a labor dispute. The owners forced a tough salary cap, ending the season, as the 2004–05 lockout was primarily driven by owners' desire for a hard salary cap to control rising player costs (And COVID as well as inflation prevented them from doing that if the season began), which they argued threatened the financial stability of smaller-market teams, while disputes focused on how league revenues were divided between owners and players, with owners pushing for a smaller share for players, then despite the 1994–95 lockout, average player salaries rose threefold between 1993 and 2004, fueling the 2004 lockout, as lockouts resulted in the introduction of a difficult salary cap, revenue sharing, and trimmed salary percentages for players, as well as the 2004–05 cancellation resulted in significant revenue losses, with some fans feeling betrayed and turning to alternative leagues like the AHL or European leagues, & the post-2004 lockout era introduced new loopholes to quicken the pace of the game & increase scoring chances/opportunities for which the 2004-05 lockout was by far to be the darkest moment in the almost 100-year history of the National Hockey League, & of course a watershed moment in the history of ice hockey with the lockout had been going on for about 10 months & 6 days when they covered 1,230 games not being played but as a result, the famed Stanley Cup hadn't been awarded for the first time since 1919 during the days of the Spanish flu outbreak that the Stanley Cup series had been called off following 5 games had been played for that I will be revealing my whole story about it in 3 blogs time.

So that is my 718th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 70th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Centerfold: My 69th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in rugby that Dylan Pietsch's chest tackle on a British & Irish Lions player during the 3rd Lions Series test in Sydney is about to become prohibited as World Rugby is announcing a legislation of the legality of the tackle height to the chest area beginning in junior right through to under 20 level this year, in an effort to stamp out on head contact due to rugby's continuous war on dangerous tackles for which had been strict since back in 2017 following a spate on high contact towards the players who tend to get concussed with head injuries also back in 2016.

And secondly continuing onto sport that we once had Wynton Rufer who played in the 1982 Football (Soccer) men's World Cup in Spain for the All Whites as our most successful New Zealand footballer/soccer player ever, compared to rugby when we once had Richie 'Rich' McCaw who is a former twice men's Rugby World Cup winning captain back for the All Blacks in both 2011 here in New Zealand, & 2015 in England as our most successful New Zealand rugby player, while in cricket that we also once had Sir Richard 'Paddles' Hadlee as one of our greatest but finest cricketers ever of our country, then league once had Mark 'Sharko' Graham as our greatest New Zealand league players ever, & in motor racing that we once had the late Denny Hulme who was the Formula One world champion in 1967 as New Zealand's greatest ever racing car driver.

And thirdly in Formula One that the 3.5 litre V8, V10 & V12 engines from that 1989-94 era rule along with the 3.0 litre V10s from 1995 until 2005 as well as 3.0 litre V12s from 1995 only before Ferrari switched to the fuel efficient V10s from the 1996 season until 2005, & 3.0 litre V8s which lasted from 1995 until 1997 before the 1998 season implemented those changes such as all constructors are powered by V10s until the 2005 season (In which former driver turned racing restorer & historian Jack Perkins praised about it along with most motor racing fans who thrived from the past before), compared to today where they currently have 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid engines since 2014 for that has always been sounding rubbish according to most fans (Especially 'Jacko/JP' who found out that today's F1 is boring due to the engine sounds not being loud enough to clearly hear through people's minds) throughout the Formula One fraternity (And there is mid season loophole changes, such as the practice session about to change that is due to increase from 60 minutes until 90 minutes due to a lack of racing, & practice throughout the 5 week, 35 day break that brought into play before the Miami Grand Prix takes place (Where A-listers will be there just like the ones who attend at a US Tennis Open event, unlike in Monaco where the glitz, & the glamour of riches have always turned up) since the cancellation of both the Bahrain, & Saudi Arabian GP's as a result of America's war on Iran that is still going, but it would never end while it looks like that the strait of Hormuz would remain shut down throughout permanently since there won't be any ceasefire deals happening all over the place, ah, you must be joking (Good lord).

And finally that Brian FM would have to be still by far, my fave radio station throughout the entire world because it's ad free, compared to the Rock FM radio station that I used to listen due to the fact that it has got ads in it, but I have never heard Channel X before, & it has not got a cult following exactly just like Brian (The station that plays rock, 80s exactly like the Sound, & adult contemporary just like More FM) for which is a gem at the moment due to the success of that tiny radio station that is broadcasting from a rubbishy little building.

So that is my 717th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 69th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Doctor! Doctor!: My 68th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in gaming that the Aussie sports games developer of Big Ant Studios seemed to fail because of their rugby, league & cricket gaming products has always been a flop in the gaming industry due to short development cycles that result in poor approval ratings like abysmal ones for example like Rugby 25 (That came out in February last year that has a 2 star rating on PlayStation Network, & once that game came out that they released another rugby game on the PS4 named Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge in which that one was better than Rugby 25, but every team is unlicensed besides one man, one myth & one legend of the late New Zealand rugby player who was widely regarded as the greatest of all time (The GOAT himself), Jonah Lomu), then Rugby League 26 (That was released in July also last year which has a 2 & a half star rating on PSN for which is better than Rugby 25), & Cricket 26 (Which was released in November last year in time for the previous Ashes series held in the 2025-26 season that currently has a 3 star rating also on the PlayStation Network when they praised the graphics, game mechanics, improved AI, & on-field gameplay of that game, saying that it is an iterative but significant improvement over Cricket 24, however, they noted the presence of frequent crashes and graphical bugs even after several patches in the first week post-release for that is way better than Rugby 25, & better than Rugby League 26 in fact).

And secondly in the rugby that that the Springboks bomb squad had remained intact when they won all but 2 games last year during the test season, including a 2 match test series win over Italy, then a one-off test victory against Georgia, as well as retaining the Rugby Championship despite dropping both games against the Wallabies in Joburg, then the AB's in Auckland, & completing another European Autumn tour series unbeaten against Japan at Wembley Stadium in London, then Italy, France, Ireland, & Wales therefore cementing their status as the early favourites to lift the William Webb Ellis cup for the 3rd time in a row next year according to the previous stories that I did on my blogs when the men's Rugby World Cup takes place down under in Australia (And can we stop the South African onslaught from happening (Especially from our All Black point of view as we are chasing our 1st men's RWC title since 2015 in England (We have a poor record but we rarely only won one tournament on foreign soil which is outside of New Zealand) that they always dominated when their reign began since 2019? We will find out in due course) in which the Boks are drawn in Pool B along with Italy, Georgia & Romania & even if they top their pool that they're on the same side of the draw as either the All Blacks, or the Wallabies with both sides willing to top Pool A (If we beat Australia, it will be South Africa in the quarterfinal in which we have never lost since 2007 against France in one of the biggest upsets of the history of the men's Rugby World Cup that was our worst performance ever (And we have made it to at least the semis at all the other tournaments), but if we lose to the Aussies, we must avoid the South Africans until the final, unlike that 2019 tournament that England produced arguably their finest performance in recent memory to beat New Zealand in the semifinal. A week later, they failed to turn up and were comprehensively beaten by South Africa in the final. As it turns out, England weren't the first team to play their final "early". Since the 1995 final, every side to have beaten the All Blacks at the World Cup has gone on to lose their next game.

1999 - Semi: New Zealand 31 - 43 France, then final: Australia 35 - 12 France

2003 - Semi: New Zealand 10 - 22 Australia, then final: Australia 17 - 20 England (During extra time)

2007 - Quarters: New Zealand 18 - 20 France, then Semi: England 14 - 9 France

& 2019 - Semi: England 19 - 7 New Zealand, then final: England 12 - 32 South Africa

In fact, since both the 1995 (AET) & 2023 losses against the Springboks was in the final (In which the South Africans had never ever lost due to the fact that they have a perfect 4 & 0 record every time they appear in a final, but just conceded the one try which was during the 2023 final), only one team has ever beaten New Zealand and gone on to win their next game at the same World Cup, namely the Wallabies way back in 1991.

And thirdly in football/soccer that the goal scored by France against the Republic of Ireland during the Football (Soccer) men's World Cup two legged qualifying play-off for the 2010 tournament in 2009 that resulted in a draw, should not have been stood due to an illegal handball by Thierry Henry who assisted the goal scored by William Gallas because there was no VAR back then (And they would have referred to it to a possible goal & red card should the video assistant referee have been available since it was introduced in 2018, mainly because it would have been a no goal meaning that the Irish would have gone through to the tournament instead on away goals loophole, & of course Henry would've been cautioned or sent off as well as he snuck a hand in there that cost the Republic of Ireland a place in the World Cup in South Africa).

And lastly that I have revealed the name of my Facebook friend Marisa Lopez's eldest daughter, & her name is McKenzie who goes by the nickname of 'Kenzie', is 12 or 13 years of age who lives in Florida in the United States who goes to junior high over there because of her being excited to be a part of the amazing OSHS Varsity Dance group recently according to the Facebook message that Marisa had posted, even though I never met her before along with Marisa (Marty's daughter from a previous relationship, & Andy's cousin) in person, but I've met her before on Facebook like I said before.

So that is my 716th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 68th of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And the entertainment world is in mourning as female American country singer, & actress of Dolly Parton (Otherwise known as the queen of country), has passed away due to a terminal illness about August last year (In which she kept it secret), but they already sent their thoughts, prayers, & heartfelt condolences go to her family, & loved ones, rest in pieces (RIP).

Dolly Parton

1946 - 2026

Hold Me Now: My 67th Blog of the year 2026 (AKA 25 years since the tragic 9/11 attacks)

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger (And it has been 25 years since the tragic, dreadful events of 9/11 had happened when at that moment which the American city of New York located in the state of New York (Otherwise known as the Empire state) in the United States was under attack from these damn terrorists, even though with al-Qaeda (The terrorist organisation) being responsible for the attacks that 4 planes were hijacked, both had been crashed into both the World Trade Centre towers, as well as one crashed into the Pentagon, & the other crashed into the wooded zone in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the world was stunned & shocked as both tragedy & disaster had been struck when the Bush administration waged their war on terror as they invaded both Afghanistan until 2021 (A year before that dreadful invasion since 2022 had started, in the midst of a backdrop between the COVID pandemic), & Iraq until 2011 (Same year that famous terrorist of Bin Laden got shot, & killed by these US Navy SEAL troops in Pakistan) also when those troops had to pull out at the last minute, but I do exactly remember a comment from the late Carole herself when September 11th had happened back in 2001 that she alluded to her son Andy who is still alive that they're both going to be alright, & yes that I was shock & awe when it happened when I was in school back then at Raetihi Primary (And Pops was at Aramoho School as the principal also then at the time), as the rest was history), but first in motor racing that Formula One's 5 week break is over, as Miami, Florida, gets set to host the highly anticipated Miami Grand Prix for which will be F1's first race since the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka near Nagoya last time out, which was won by world championship leader of young promising Italian driver Kimi Antonelli who is in charge where he took victory in China, while his Mercedes teammate, & the winner of the Australian Grand Prix, as well as title favourite of Britain's George Russell is trailing behind Antonelli in terms of the points fight (While Mercedes-AMG is leading the constructors championship ahead of Ferrari, but the defending constructors champions of McLaren is starting to find their competitive mood during their defence of the constructors crown, after they failed to impress in the first 2 rounds before making significant upgrades in the most recent Grand Prix in Japan, but like I said before that Mercedes are back to 2014-20 levels in terms of dominating the first 3 races of the new season) before the cancellations of both the Bahrain & Saudi Arabian GP's due to that certain U.S. led invasion of Iran that began after that late Iranian supreme leader got slain on the last day of February meaning that a war has begun, but there will be mid-season loophole changes to their constructor's cars since the 5 week break was in place, while all of the constructors with their drivers had been testing throughout at the Nürburgring circuit in Germany just to prepare for Miami which is due on the weekend of the 1st to the 3rd of May (And there has been an update as the young Italian competitor of Kimi Antonelli dominates the Miami Grand Prix with a win, his 3rd in a row after starting from pole as he maintains his world championship lead to 20 points behind his nearest rival of his Mercedes teammate George Russell in terms of the championship fight, but the defending world champion of Britain's Lando Norris (Who won the sprint race in that Antonelli got penalised for it) in the McLaren, has finished in a solid 2nd behind the race winner as he moves up to 4th in the standings during his title defence, while for Aussie driver Oscar Piastri (Lando's teammate) who rounded out the podium to finish in 3rd (And unfortunately for our own Kiwi of Liam Lawson (Who drives for RB Racing Bulls), as he had to retire from the race as he got a DNF for example earlier on in the race for which was damn unlucky for him).

And secondly in rugby that Sky Sport are going to show an old Super Rugby match from the archives/vault back in 2010 that was during the Super 14 era when the Hurricanes took to the field when they squared off against the Crusaders in our nation's capital of Wellington in a thrilling tussle (And I did see a YouTube clip of it the day before April 29th, where the match had ended in a draw, before seeing it on Sky Sport a day later where I saw famous All Blacks playing for the 2 franchises such as Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Kieran Read, Brad Thorn, Owen Franks, & Sam Whitelock for the Crusaders, while the Hurricanes had Piri Weepu, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Cory Jane, Victor Vito, & Aaron Cruden because of the players that I remember watching it on TV back then), in anticipation of the match taking place on May 1st for which should be a classic between both NZ titans who clash between the two sides there on that night such as the table toppers, & the defending champions at Hnry Stadium to open round 12 of this year's Super Rugby Pacific competition (And there are other matches that I'm watching on the 2nd of May, such as the Fijian Drua playing the Highlanders at a stadium called Four R Stadium which hosted a Super Rugby Pacific match previously for that was against the Brumbies earlier on in Ba over in Fiji, followed by Moana Pasifika who lock horns with the Blues in Albany in what is to be the last ever Battle of the 09 as Moana is expected to be defunct following this season).

And thirdly in gaming that I started to play PS Remote Play again on the 27th of April since a while ago, but that time with the 8.5 version since the 9.0 version was unplayable meaning that it crashed just after a minute, & the game that I played was Gran Turismo 7 (I was racing a Honda powered Super Formula car from 2023, then both the fictional F3500-B & F3500-A cars that is inspired by early 90's Formula One (And today this morning that I was playing the F3500-B once first at Circuit Sainte-Croix layout B (F3500-B - One Make), then the F3500-A twice on both Tokyo Expressway South Counterclockwise (F3500-A - One Make), & Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Formula 90s) circuits respectively so I can get the daily workout reward, but I finally manage to get the Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 V6 TI Group 4 race car on April 26th that it is available at that time after months of waiting for it to buy, especially at the legends car dealership) on the PS5 for which I always play every day along with Grand Theft Auto IV (I played the vanilla GTA IV version on April 28th that I always engage in a police shootout that evokes memories of that dreadful invasion since 2022, then I played the Ballad of Gay Tony expansion pack a day later on the 29th for which I do a gang wars sub mission where I shoot towards the gangs, then the police that has drawn parallels to the Iran conflict that they're still having along with that shocking war since 2022 (And being a troop who is thrusted onto the battle on the front lines of an invasion, is like doing gaming stuff according to that dreadful American leader at a White House press conference) on the Xbox 360 via backwards compatibility on my Xbox Series X, but I skip the update, then I always pair the device every time I boot it up on my laptop.

And finally that the new 30,000 capacity Te Kaha Stadium in Christchurch (In which the Super Round that was a success story had completed without any further but major incident, but Auckland is in position to pinch it from Christchurch of hosting the Super Round next year (And there is a possibility of an ANZAC Day Bledisloe rugby test match between the Wallabies & the All Blacks being on the cards also next year after being originally convinced of not hosting one) that is World Cup year according to several sports news reports lately) that had opened already recently (Construction got underway in 2022, 4 years before completion), should be New Zealand's national stadium after all because of that ground could be better than the 50,000 capacity Eden Park (Which is New Zealand's unofficial national stadium that was redeveloped back in 2010 in time for the 2011 men's Rugby World Cup tournament) for which had been opened in 1900 as the main rugby ground as well as limited overs cricket now (Compared to Hnry Stadium that was opened back in 2000, 2 years before FMG Stadium Waikato opened its doors also back in 2002, 9 years before Forsyth Barr Stadium was completed in 2011 in time for the men's Rugby World Cup tournament, & now Te Kaha Stadium recently in March this year, a month before hosting its first official rugby match between the Crusaders & the New South Wales Waratahs), but it could be nominated for the stadium of the year award due to the fact that it is one hell of a stadium (And Pops was praising about it regardless of his reaction, oh my word), yes indeed, needless to say.

So that is my 715th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 67th of this year, viva Ukraine.

No More Mr. Nice Guy: My 66th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger (And happy father's day to all of the Dads tuning in here in New Zealand as well, especially my Dad because I want to give a shout out to him then), but first that Italy is now having a World Cup curse for failing to qualify for 3 consecutive tournaments from 2018 until this year where they lost to Sweden (They last appeared in 2018, but have made it to this year's tournament following their win against Poland in a UEFA qualification playoff final as they gained vengeance over them since losing to the Poles last time out in 2022) back in 2017 the year before the tournament began (It was Spain who topped the group in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers where they qualified for the tournament in Russia), then North Macedonia (Who lost to Portugal (Who have least made it on 7 consecutive occasions with their star player Cristiano Ronaldo (The Pedro Leal, as well as the Uva brothers of both Goncalo & Vasco (All rugby), Filipe Albuquerque, Antonio Felix da Costa, & Tiago Monteiro (All motor racing) of Portuguese football (Soccer) who is in his last dance along with his key Argentinian rival of the most recent World Cup winning captain of Lionel Messi (Who is Argentinian football/soccer's equivalent of the late Juan Manuel Fangio (A racing car driver who won the Formula One world championship 5 times), & Hugo Porta (Who is a former successful rugby player of his country) as the GOAT's who will hang up their boots after the tournament (Although Argentina (The current World Cup holders who are seeking to defend football/soccer's global showpiece event since Brazil in 1962 in which no side had ever done that afterwards, & are drawn in the most favourable group possible (Along with Spain who are drawn in Group H along with tournament debutants Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia & Uruguay (Compared to France who have drawn in a difficult but demanding group in Group I along with Senegal, Iraq, & Norway, then England in Group N along with Croatia, Ghana, & Panama respectively), in Group J along with Algeria, Austria, & tournament newbies Jordan) under Messi have never met the Portuguese also under Ronaldo at a World Cup before, but they'll at least meet in the quarters with both sides will have to require of topping their groups so that they can meet for the first & only time) in the UEFA qualification playoff final) in 2022 during the UEFA World Cup qualification playoff semifinal (Also it was Switzerland who topped the group during the qualifiers when the Italians failed to beat Northern Ireland where the Swiss instead made it to Qatar), & this year to Bosnia & Herzegovina in which Italy had a disaster when they were down to 10 players for the rest of the game which was just before halftime when they took the advantage by scoring a goal earlier on in the game, then conceded a goal that forced them to extra time then penalties, before losing it on spot kicks according to the previous stories on my blogs that I did where the curse continued (And it was the Norwegians who were group toppers to appear in football/soccer's global showpiece event since way back in 1998 in France along with both the Austrians, & Scotland) for which the Bosnians have struck their golden ticket to North America where they join Group C, along with co-hosts Canada (Who'll make their 3rd appearance after previously appearing in both the 1986 & 2022 tournaments before being given automatic qualification for this year's tournament as the co-hosts along with Mexico, & the United States), the Qataris (Who were the previous hosts of the tournament in 2022 making just their 2nd appearance in the World Cup) & the aforementioned Switzerland who last failed to qualify back in 2002.

And secondly that the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary of Once Brothers is about Serbian basketball player Vlade Divac who once played for the Los Angeles Lakers when he got drafted in the NBA to play along with Magic Johnson (He hardly spoke any English when he first arrived in the United States where he was accompanied by his partner who would gone on to marry him later on in Divac's life) before moving to the Sacramento Kings later on until his retirement, & was part of the under-19 World Cup success for FR Yugoslavia way back in 1988 that he always had a bond with the late Croatian basketballer Drazen Petrovic (Friends with Divac until the Yugoslavian wars had started also way back in 1991 (The most violent invasion since World War II, but now it is that dreadful invasion since 2022 was the first full scale conflict also since the Second World War) where the friendship had ended once Croatia became independent from FR Yugoslavia) who played for both the Portland Trail Blazers (Which once had Clyde 'The Glide' Drexler in the team), then the New Jersey Nets until a fatal car accident took the life of 3 people in Germany way back in 1993 meaning that Divac (Who played with the late Petrovic as well as Toni Kukoc & Dino Radja even before the conflict began) won't reconcile with his friend anymore as he meets the parents at the end in Croatia back in 2010.

And thirdly in music that Split Enz that features the likes Neil Finn (New Zealand's equivalent of the late Chris Cornell AKA that Audioslave & Soundgarden guy) of Crowded House known for their singles of 'Late Last Night', 'I See Red', 'I Got You', 'History Never Repeats' & 'One Step Ahead', are back together for reunion shows according to the front page of the Listener that I saw about the band (Which features Neil's elder bro Tim & Eddie Rayner, but I don't know the rest of the band members other than the Finns & Rayner) that gave New Zealand a cultural big bang & exported Kiwi weird to the world, as if history was never repeating by giving it a whirl.

And lastly in the rugby that New Zealand has finally cracked down on hip drop tackles that ended the careers of certain players, especially in club level since both the NRL & NFL have since outlawed it (And I saw it on the Classics v Classic Wallabies game that referee Conrad Smith who awarded a penalty to the Classic Wallabies for a dangerous hip drop against a Classics player when it was played at Taranaki Stadium in New Plymouth, in that the Classics went on to win by 14 points in a high scoring affair (And rolling subs were used so that the players who got older may be subbed off for some reason, but I haven't watched the Classics on TV since I watched it live at Cook's Gardens here in Whanganui last year when I was there at the ground with Pops until then where I had watched it).

So that is my 714th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 66th of this year, viva Ukraine.